The Days of Our Ridazz.

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On Friday, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) released a letter and supplemental document, which asked the US Department of Transportation to weaken their guidance on accommodating bicyclists and pedestrians. The supplemental document, submitted as part of a formal review of regulations, asks that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) withdraw their guidance on the meaning of “due consideration” of bicyclists and pedestrians to make it easier for states to ignore the needs of non-motorized travelers. AASHTO prefers the weaker “consider where appropriate” to allow states to avoid having to justify failure to accommodate bicycling and walking.

This request is misguided. At a time when cities are building entire bicycling networks for the cost of one mile of urban four-lane freeway, bike projects are putting people to work, and benefiting business, this is not the time to move backwards. When more and more states – 23 and counting – are embracing Complete Streets policies, AASHTO should be a leading voice in shaping holistic and comprehensive transportation systems, not resisting them. In fact, AASHTO’s own 12 year-old Bicycle Guide, due to be up dated this year, says that bicyclists and pedestrians can be expected on any roadway they are legally allowed to operate and therefore should be accommodated.

It's not really taking away anything. It will still require "due consideration", due consideration just won't be defined by US DOT.

It's true it will be easier to ignore or be more lax about 'due consideration', but at the same time this can almost be a good thing as there will be more arguing room when it comes to what due consideration constitutes. Theoretically, without the DOT "guidance", you can argue that due consideration is above and beyond what the current definition is, whereas currently states would be more hesitant to go beyond the standard.

Thank you to the thousands of you who contacted the director of your state transportation agency regarding last week’s action alert. Your voice has been heard loud and clear. Due to your combined efforts, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has withdrawn their recommendation to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to weaken the requirements for states to give “due consideration” to the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians when constructing roadways. The League of American Bicyclists, the National Center for Biking and Walking, and America Bikes will be meeting with AASHTO officials next month to discuss this and other important issues.

If you haven't already, please take action to ensure that state transportation agencies do not gut important bike funding. Visit our Advocacy Center and ask your Governor to rescind federal transportation dollars proportionally across all programs.

You can follow progress on these and other campaigns at bikeleague.org/blog. Thanks again for your support.